Swing out shelf



Oct 25, 1960 N. L. ETTEN 2,957,589

swmc our SHELF Filed Feb. 20, 1959 Mcho/as 'L. Effefi United States Patent 2,957,589 SWING oUT SHELF Nicholas L. Etten, Cedar Falls, Iowa, assignor to Cham- This invention relates to improvements in shelf structures and more particularly relates to an improved form of swing-out refrigerator shelf and support therefor.

Refrigerator shelf structures have heretofore been provided which swing out when loaded to accommodate articles of food to be readily removed from and replaced onthe shelf. Such shelf structures, however, have been relatively heavy, having a heavyar'm structure extending beneath the shelf as a support therefor, and besides being expensive to manufacture, reduce the storage space in the refrigerator cabinet.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is'to provide an improved form of refrigerator shelf-structure rendering the heavy support arms heretofore used to support the shelf unnecessary, and in place thereof Supporting the shelf on a single cantilever tube in torsion.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel 5 and improvedform of swing-out support for refrigerator shelves and the like, in which the support for the shelf is" contained substantially within limits of the shelf structure.

f A still further object of invention is to providean improved form of shelf support particularly adapted to support refrigerator shelves and the like, to be swung out of the refrigerator cabinet, utilizing an elongated pivoted tube placed under torsion by spaced rods extending therefrom, all of which form a cantilever support for the refrigerator shelf.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of swing-out refrigerator shelf structure arranged to carry the normal shelf loads heretofore carried by refrigerator shelf structures, without materially increasing the thickness of the shelf and support therefor.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherem:

Figure 1 is a front end view of a refrigerator cabinet, showing the refrigerator door open and showing swingout shelves constructed in accordance with the invention supported therein;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a refrigerator shelf and support structure constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the support frame structure for the shelf; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line IVIV of Figure 2.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawing, I have shown in Figure l a refrigerator cabinet 10, having spaced bearing brackets 11 mounted therein adjacent the outside thereof and adjacent the door for the cabinet, and forming pivotal supports for swinging shelf structures 12, which may be swung out of the refrigerator cabinet, to facilitate the removal of articles containing food therefrom or the replacement of articles containing food thereon.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the refrigerator shelf 12 'welded thereto.

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comprises a bounding frame structure 13 bounding the opposite sides and rear of the shelf and a front frame structure 15 extending along the front of the shelf and having a forwardly extending flanged lip 16 forming a decorative front end structure of the shelf and extending over and hiding a torsion bar 17, forming a pivoted cantilever support for the shelf structure. The shelf 12 also has a center rail 19 extending therealong, herein shown as being in the form of an inverted channel and has cross wires 20 riveted or otherwise secured at their ends to the bounding frame structure 13 and the front rail 15 and crimped or otherwise secured to the center bar 19 intermediate the ends thereof.

The shelf 12 also has spaced brackets 21 depending from the rear end portion of the bounding rail 13, within which fit reduced end portions 22 of support bars 23, mounted on and extending laterally from the torsion tube 17. i

The torsion tube 17 has aligned cross-drilled portions 24 at one end thereof within which are fitted a vertical pivot pin 25. The angle between the vertical axis of the pivot'pin 25 and the longitudinal axis of the torsion tube 17 may be slightly greater than when the shelf is empty, and may be substantially 90 when the shelf is loaded to retain the shelf in a horizontal position when loaded. The pivot pin 25 may be press fitted to the drilled portions of said torsion tube and may be tack The pivot pin 25 is adapted to be mounted in the bearing support bracket 11 for pivotal movement with respect thereto about a vertical axis, and

;is' shown in Figure 4 as having an annular recessed lower end portion 26,-within which is adapted to be snapped a .snap ring or the like (not shown) for retaining said pivot pinto the bracket 11.

The torsion tube 17 also is cross drilled at right angles to the drilled portion 24 thereof at spaced points therealo'rig and has reduced end portions 27 of support rods 23 fitted therein. The reduced end portions 27 of the support rods 23 may be press fitted within the cross drilled portions of the torsion tube 17 and may be tack welded thereto.

The support rods 23 are shown in Figure 4 as being inclined downwardly from the torsion tube 17 at a slight angle toward the center thereof to conform to the bottom of the refrigerator shelf structure and are inclined upwardly from the transverse center thereof, to support the shelf 12 in a level position when loaded. Said support rods 23 have flattened intermediate portions 29 forming a support for the downwardly facing legs of the center bar 19 of the shelf structure. The front rail 15 of the shelf structure has spaced recessed portions 30 formed therein fitting on the support rods 23 and extending downwardly along opposite sides thereof to retain the forward end portion of the shelf structure from lateral movement with respect thereto.

It may be seen from the foregoing that when the shelf 12 is in position on the torsion bar 17 and the support rods 23, and is loaded at the back, that the support rods 23 and the torsion bar 17 form cantilever supports for the shelf, and that the torsion tube 17 is loaded in torsion by the support rods 23 while the pivot pin 25 is loaded in shear. This makes it possible for a relatively small diameter tube to support the shelf in a level position and enables all heavy support brackets underneath the shelf to be dispensed with and holding the shelf level under normal loads, without sacrificing strength of the support.

It may also be seen that the support frame structure for the shelf is substantially concealed by the shelf and is substantially within the margins thereof, and that the shelf may readily be removed from its support simply by lifting up on the shelf from the front end a slight amount and then moving the shelf backwardly to disengage the brackets 21 from the reduced end portions 22 of the support rods 23.

It should also be understood that while I have shown the shelf 12 as being separate from the support frame structure, that the shelf and support frame structure may be an integral structure if desired, without materially altering the construction of the support frame structure.

It will further be understood that various modifications and variations in the invention herein may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the invention, as defined by the claims appended hereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a swing out shelf support structure for refrigerators and the like, an open shelf structure having front and rear rails and cross wires connecting said rails together, swingable support means for said shelf structure, comprising a torsion bar having a vertical pivot pin extending from one end thereof and forming a pivotal mounting therefor and extending along and beneath the front rail of said shelf structure and forming a support therefor, and a cantilever support mounting for said shelf structure on said torsion bar including at least one support rod extending diametrically through said torsion bar and extending laterally therefrom, and bracket means on said shelf structure mounting said shelf structures on said support rod.

2. In a swing out shelf support structure for refrigerators and the like, an open shelf structure having front and rear rails and a center rail extending therebetween, with cross wires connecting said rails together, pivotal support means for said shelf structure, comprising a torsion bar of a length substantially equal to the length of the front rail of the support structure, a pivot pin mounted on said torsion bar and extending therefrom at right angles with respect thereto and forming a pivotal support therefor, spaced support rods mounted on said torsion bar and extending laterally from one side of said torsion bar in the same direction, and means for mounting said shelf structure on said torsion bar and said support rods and loading said torsion bar under torsion comprising, apertured brackets depending from said rear rail of said shelf structure and fitting on the outer'end portions of said support rods, recessed portions in said front rail extending partially about said support rods, and said support rods having intermediate flattened portions having supporting engagement with said center rail of said shelf structure.

3. In a support structure for swing out refrigerator shelves and the like, a vertical pivot pin, a torsion tube mounted thereon and extending therefrom at generally right angles with respect to the axis thereof, and mounting said torsion tube for pivotal movement about a vertical axis, parallel spaced support rods extending diametrically through said torsion tube and secured thereto and extending laterally from one side of said torsion tube, and a shelf structure detachably mounted on said torsion tube and support bars and extending inwardly from said torsion tube along said support bars.

4. In a support structure for swing out refrigerator shelves and the like, a vertical pivot pin, a support bracket therefor, a torsion tube mounted on said pin and extending therefrom at an angle of slightly greater than a right angle and being of a length substantially equal to the length of a refrigerator shelf to be supported thereon, parallel spaced support rods having reduced end portions extending diametrically through said torsion tube and ex;- tending laterally from one side of said torsion tube and having'outer end portions forming a mounting for a refrigerator shelf and the like, and inclined upwardly with respect to the horizontal at a slight angle, and placing said torsion tube under torsion and said pivot pin under shear by the load of articles of food on the shelf.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

